Lies and Deceptions
by obsidians
Summary: In every war there is the one who is defeated and the one victorious. What if the roles are blurred? Rated M for implied lemons and content.
1. Chapter 1

Consider this to be my "so long and thanks for all the fish" goodbye. That would be a Douglas Adams quote. Taking a break, might be around to do some one shots or go to FF's twisted sister AFF to work at some perversion there. I shall no longer be updating at a punishing pace as I was.

I shall finish my current story, but not Next Bus; it is way too much like two other stories. You know how it ends. This shall be my final Ranma-chan/Mousse submission. I haven't forgotten your story challenge Serpentking and shall also co-write with my wee pal Daisukifox.

Enjoy

I don't own Ranma I merely keep him in my closet.

Sid

End A/N now for the commercials

I stole Ranma away in the night to defeat her by making her my concubine; yes I now realize how stupid an idea that was now, but it made sense to me at the time. In the end it led to my own defeat while she remained relatively unscathed.

My name, if that's important to you, is Mu Tzu of the of the Chinese Amazon tribe Joketsuzoku, more commonly known Mousse, Mr. Part-time or Stupid Duck Boy. I actually am none of those things, if anything I would say that I'm romantically challenged and get some rather stupid ideas about how to win my love.

That brings us back to my latest tactic of Ranma-as-concubine. I had recently inherited a bit of money from a deceased relative. This allowed me a bit of freedom from the drudgery of working fulltime at the Nekohantan and allowed me to get an apartment outside of the city. Perhaps living alone permitted me to dwell on possibilities for defeating Ranma, all I know is that I thought of what appeared to be brilliant one. I thought that Shampoo would view Ranma differently if she had lived as my submissive housewife and had slept with me. Realizing that having a place of my own could make this possible, I set about making it happen. It was easy buying doctored photos from Nabiki of the two of us in various poses, such as at the beach, in a restaurant, at our wedding. These I framed and scattered throughout my apartment. Finding out the female Ranma's sizes of clothing from the same source was easy; wiping Nabiki's memory was even easier. Wiping her computer of copies was even easier still. I bought the clothing that I wanted her to wear, a fake wedding ring, and a doctored marriage certificate and now I just needed the final piece; Ranma herself.

I met him late one night at an abandoned baseball diamond for a challenge that I had issued under a false name. I am not vain but know that I am far from plain; my green eyes with their oriental slant have been called alluring by some and myself described as a bishounen (beautiful boy). I dressed in nondescript black clothes and wore the contact lenses that I had recently purchased. I met him and damned if he didn't recognize me after knowing me for over a year! It was downright insulting; you'd think that he'd have recognized my voice at least! Instead we went through the whole song and dance about; I challenge thee with him saying 'bring it', or something to that effect. He sprang at me and I threw a bomb at him, it blew up and surrounded him with the same gas I had used wipe Nabiki's mind clear. He fell unconscious and with a quick dose of cold water he became a she, the female him was easy to transport. Ranma made a very small girl and albeit, a cute one.

I took her back to my place and redressed her how I wanted her to look and then sat down and 'reprogrammed' her. The gas not only allowed a person to wipe the core personality, but shape them into whatever you want. It's very effective but needs to be redone every week while its victim lies unconscious in its grasp.

She opened her eyes; she wore a beautiful dark blue silk kimono with cranes on it and her hair was bound up in a style befitting a proper, married Japanese beauty and she wore a gold wedding ring. "Honey are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine darling" she said in a demure tone of voice "I'm pleased that you asked"

"Of course I worry about you Rei" I said and helped her up. Her name was Rei Matsuo (Rei means obedient, I thought it was perfect for my new Ranma) and she was my wife. I had instilled traditional Japanese values in her. She knew to obey me as I was her lord and master. Pretty sweet huh? She knew to do my bidding, I knew that her memories would be hazy, but I figured that I could make them up as I went along.

"Why do I feel so dizzy husband?" she asked.

"You've always been a delicate creature. You fainted" I said taking her hands. I myself wore a man's kimono and my contacts. She believed that I was a Chinese immigrant who fell for her beauty when I spotted her in the market, had wooed and won her and that we were newly married.

She looked the time, "oh my, it's so late, I haven't even started dinner yet, please forgive me" she said kneeling on the floor. I grinned in triumph at this while she wasn't looking.

"It's okay; I can hardly think you remiss in your duties if you aren't feeling well" I said drawing her to her feet.

"So you don't plan to spank me?" she asked. I had told her that this was to be the punishment for acting as a bad wife.

"Not this time dear, now go make supper" I said and gave her a pat on the bottom. She blushed and rushed off with downcast eyes.

So began Ranma's new life, she made Kasumi seem like a tyrant she was so gentle. Everyday I would pick out her kimono and help her put up her hair like she was a dress up dolly. She would make me breakfast and I would leave for work at the Nekohanten. She would spend the day marketing and cleaning house. When I returned she would have dinner ready and sit obediently on a pillow and served me while I ate, then she would eat herself and then we would go to bed.

Bed, now there was my favourite place for humiliating Ranma, she took to sex like a duck to water, pardon the pun. She was shy at first when I approached her for my marital rights, but I didn't force her. She had to know that she did it willingly. I started first with gentle kisses and caresses until her nipples hardened to pebbles beneath my fingertips inside her dainty pink bra and her love juices soaked her matching panties (see? I thought of everything). Her first orgasm was from my tongue and her next six from my cock plunging into her virgin hole. I reveled each time her nails dug into my back and she uttered a sharp cry. She loved sex and couldn't get enough. Who could resist the combination of dutiful wife and tiger in bed? Not me.

People would ask each other what happened to Ranma and I would just smirk and be tempted to say "polishing my shoes." It was quite amusing that the elaborate search parties would walk right by her in the market as she always wore a hood when out of doors; I told her that married women should never show their hair.

She was the perfect wife, sweet, thoughtful and sexy as hell. Yes I spanked her once in a while but you've seen her ass. Tell me you wouldn't want to do that to her...especially since we discovered it got her hot. I watched her fall in love with me; I was always kind to her and never abused her. I came to care for her also to my chagrin.

I thought that she was happy in her new life until one night she asked "honey why don't I remember my family?" I put down my chopsticks and thought I might draw inspiration from her real family. Mother was a bit of a psycho and father little more then a ball busting pimp, I quickly dismissed this idea. I told her that her father was a tough, but fair doctor who called her his "little red." I told her that her mother was a gentle, beautiful woman who was fiercely protective of her and her sister. She'd chased me off her porch with a broom when I brought Rei home a couple of minutes late one night. I said she had a little bother who could imitate any birdcall. I said that she had an older sister who loved to steal her clothes. I invented for her a perfect loving family that grew with each detail I added until she laughed along with my descriptions and imitations of them. This made her so happy that I even hired a family down on their luck to take her phone calls and encouraged her to call them. They must have been convincing because she was always ecstatic after talking to them.

She did change in small ways despite my constantly reprogramming her personality. I allowed her a little more freedom of choice and gave her fond memories of growing up. I knew better then to try and limit her friends; people were just drawn to her. I was happy to see that she maintained friendships with women of the traditional values as the ones I gave to her. She approached me one day about a job one of them had offered her. "What sort of job?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's at my friend Hanako's tea shop" she explained.

"What sort of uniform are you expected to wear?" I asked.

"It's a traditional Japanese tea house, exactly what I have on" she said in amusement, holding out her arms to show her tasteful kimono and obi. "I hope you don't hate the idea, I told Hanako that I would only take it if you approve of it. It would be from nine am to two pm, so I would have plenty of time for my chores and to make you dinner" she said. So I did check it out, I was relieved that it was mainly populated by the elderly and that the owner suggested that she wear a black wig to make her look more authentically Japanese.

We filled out the paperwork, I was glad that I had had the foresight to get her a fake set of id. While another employee showed her around, I asked Hanako why Rei had wanted to take the job.

"She wants to give you her money for household expenses" Hanako explained.

I was surprised when the next night I came home in a low mood and I found her dressed only in a frilly pink apron. She acted all demure and walked like nothing was amiss until I bent her over the table and took her from behind. I loved having sex with her, there was nothing like the feeling of her pulsating along my length during her orgasms. Dinner was cold by the time we were done. "Why did you do this?" I asked her because acting sexy was so unlike the new her.

She giggled "I wanted to cheer you up; you're always so depressed after you work at the café" she said. I was surprised that she had noticed this; I have never told her the misery that my work environment had become. Shampoo had become a tyrant out of frustration of not knowing where Ranma was and often took it out on me. I usually got home in a frustrated mood sporting a whole new set of bruises; Rei had said nothing and applied salve to them without asking a thing.

"I'm fine, I love my job" I assured her.

"They seem to treat you like a slave and underpay you. You should quit, you can get another job as a waiter anywhere" she said. I could feel my heart turn cold at this. Leave the Neko Hanten? Go away from Shampoo? It was unthinkable, but I did have my wife to consider...I blushed when I realized what I had just thought. Perhaps my lies were too convincing even for me? But she'd been with me over a month and this situation was supposed to have lasted a week. Yet I loved coming home to her and listening to her telling me about her day. I loved sleeping beside her; it was nice to have someone enjoy my company after being rejected so many times. I knew that it couldn't last forever.

It was the day of my seventeen birthday when things came to a head. She'd insisted that we should have a party for me and I was really touched, no one had ever thrown me one before. Yet I had to tell her that I had no friends, anyone I could have invited wasn't to know where she was. "We could go dancing" she suggested.

"Do you know how to dance?" I asked her dubiously.

She looked at our wedding photo "didn't we dance at our wedding?" she asked as I had never added this to her false memories.

"Like an angel" I told her, settling that we were going dancing.

We went to a dance bar and she drank mocktails as neither of us was of age, however I being tall for my age, I managed to pass and shared with her some rum based drinks until we were both giggly. She was a natural dancer, smooth and graceful. People would step back to watch her as she whirled around the floor, I'm sure I looked like a large mouthed bass flopping on land in comparison to her. It was the best night of my life, afterwards she clung onto my arm as we walked home. "Honey I was thinking we should have a baby soon" she said.

I stopped dead "why would you want to do that?" I asked her stupidly.

"That's what people in love do" she said, "I figure that with you putting what I make in the bank and with what you have left of your inheritance, we should be fine" she said. I knew then that I had to let her go. I had become too attached; she had become too attached.

I didn't reprogram her again, so a week later she when was serving me tea she dropped the pot. "Mousse what am I doing here?" she demanded in Ranma's voice. Then she stood still as Rei's memories fused with Ranma's. "You violated me!" she screamed and launched herself at me; I didn't even try to protect myself as she took her revenge by beating me to a bloody pulp. Afterwards she retrieved her old clothes (she knew where these were because I had made her wash them and put them away), dumped some tea over her head, dressed and left without a word to me.

Ranma's home now and there is much rejoicing; he told everyone that he was on a training trip. Everyone's happy and Shampoo can't stop hugging him and quite frankly I don't care anymore. I hate going home to an empty house and sleep with Rei's kimono beside me when I do sleep at all. I feel horrible most of the time but no one notices or cares.

Ranma showed up in disguise and sat in my section a week later. I had expected him to come but I hadn't thought that she would come as a girl and wearing her black wig and sunglasses. I served her to see what she wanted. "You've come for your retribution?" I said without preamble.

"I want to know why" she said taking off her sunglasses.

"I don't have a proper answer other then, it seemed like a good idea at the time" I answered.

"No why did you send me back to my own private hell?" she asked.

I was stumped by this "I don't understand" I said.

She toyed nervously with her sunglasses "when I got home Akane called me a jerk and hit me with her mallet and my father and Mr. Tendo yelled at me for deserting Akane. Not a single person asked me where I was or had been doing" she said in an ironic tone of voice. "Ukyou swatted me with her spatula, Shampoo slapped me and Kodachi tried to kidnap me. Nice welcome home huh? My mother wants me to commit seppuku if I fail to become a man among men, so I can't go home because of my curse. Without the Tendo house I have nowhere to go. My father wants to sell me to the highest bidder. Does that sound good to you? At least living a lie with you I had a loving family and was with someone I chose to marry and who wasn't foisted on me" she said sadly.

"But it wasn't real!" I protested.

"I had a father who was a doctor who called me little red, I had a gentle mother who was fiercely protective of her daughters, I had a little brother who could imitate any bird song, I had sister who liked to steal my clothes and I had a husband who loved me. I was happy; you took all of that from me" she stated.

"You would rather have lived a lie with someone in love with another girl?" I asked.

"You don't get it, you're in love with me" she said smiling sadly.

"I love Shampoo" I protested.

"I've been watching you, you barely even notice her anymore. You're too busy missing me" she said, there was no triumph in her voice; she was merely stating a fact.

I realized that it was true, I had set out to defeat her and in the end she had defeated me. I took a deep breath "have you come for your revenge?" I asked her.

"You're in love with someone who doesn't even exist; I've already had it" she said, she handed me a gift wrapped package and gave me a kiss on the cheek "Happy Birthday Mousse" she said and left.

I opened the wrapper to a photo of her done up like Rei, my Rei and brushed away a bitter tear.

"Who was that?" Shampoo asked me.

"Just a girl I once knew" I replied.


	2. The Bargain

Er making a visit to post this as I got a request and might continue it.

Sid

Rei tried her spicy chicken Ramen again, it was Mousse's favourite so she'd been so careful with the recipe. She wanted everything to be perfect when he got home from work. She took off her apron and set the table. A final mirror check showed her that her wine coloured cheongsam dress remained unwrinkled and the matching flower she wore to one side of her bun hadn't wilted yet. She had ceased wearing kimonos and had been altered in modest ways since her last time spent as Rei. She examined her beautiful face and hoped that she looked her best. She heard the key turn in the lock and Mousse came in, he wore a pair of old blue jeans and a t-shirt under his polyester blue uniform shirt and carried a lunch bag. Since leaving the Nekohanten, he'd found a job as a stock boy in a large department store. It saddened Rei to see him out of his martial arts clothing, the baggy western style clothing seemed to rob him of his exoticness somehow, not that she would tell him that. "Welcome home husband" she said wrapping her arms around him.

He held her tight and allowed himself to bask in the love that he felt for her. In his whole miserable existence, she was his only bright spot; his Rei of light. Gods how he needed her and she would be gone soon. "Good to be home with you" he said in a voice choked with emotion as a tear fell onto her bright-flame hair.

Sensing his dark mood, she made him laugh with stories about her day and helped him rid himself of the ponytail that she had come to loath and change his clothing. He had only his pants on when he felt arms encircle him and soft, small hands explore his chest, before slipping down his body to caress his thighs teasingly. He moaned and said "what about dinner?"

She stepped back and pulled the pins from her hair so it tumbled down her back. She cocked her head and looked at him seductively through downcast eyes. "Its soup darling, I turned it on low, it will just simmer until we're ready to eat" she purred. With skill born of practice of someone used to removing Chinese clothing, she wriggled out of her tight cheongsam to reveal that she wore nothing underneath. Forgetting his physical hunger Mousse scooped her up and laid her on the bed to worship her; what he ate certainly satisfied one hunger. They made love passionately but tenderly, her hitched breaths ghosting against the hollow of his throat intoxicated him just as much as her sweet, nubile body did. She herself was entranced as each of his strokes lovingly caressed her sweet spots, so she slipped seamless from one orgasm to another.

"Deeper" she panted. Understanding what she meant, he hugged her and rolled them so she was bouncing on top him. His hands stroked and guided her hips as she rode him, sometimes they would stroke her bouncing, full breasts with their diamond point nipples or slip between her thighs to caress her button as they climbed together towards perfect bliss. She cried out one final time and arched above him, while he filled her with his final warmth. After some cuddling, they got half dressed and ate dinner satiated and giggly with their hair a disheveled mess. They retired for the night to make love again.

Mousse stared sadly at his sleeping Rei; she was cuddled into him with her arms around him and her head resting on his breast. He wished that she didn't have to leave and would stay with him forever...but he knew that that could never be. "I love you" he said.

She raised her head up sleepily and said, "I love you too" and rolled over. Mousse got out of bed, got dressed and brushed his hair. He retrieved her male Chinese clothes and a kettle and laid them beside her. He leaned over her to give her one last kiss on the cheek and said "Ranma return"

Ranma sat up and let Rei's memories sink into his own "you two had fun tonight" he stated.

Mousse leaned against the wall to appear causal. "Yes we did, I treasure every second I am with Rei"

"She does too" Ranma said, picking up the kettle and stood up to transform herself to her true form, Mousse averted his eyes as this was painful for him to watch. He walked out of the room and waited for the other martial artist to join him at the table. When he did, Mousse took up his comb and tied Ranma's hair back into his customary tight braid so that no one would question what he'd been doing. "Thanks Mousse" he said smiling at him in a way that painfully was like Rei's.

"I thank you to for allowing me to see my wife" Mousse said formally.

"You were never really married" Ranma pointed out.

"In my heart we were" Mousse said defensively.

Ranma turned to leave, but briefly touched a wall "it's funny, this tiny apartment seems like home to me. I guess because it's so quiet here compared to the Tendo residence" he said with a laugh to cover that being around Mousse made him nervous. The other boy inspired feelings in him that weren't terribly manly.

"Don't forget our bargain" Mousse reminded him.

"I won't" Ranma promised. Mousse collapsed on the floor and started sobbing the second he was out of earshot.

Ranma's Bargain

Ranma was there when the shit hit the fan. Mousse had pretty much been ignoring Shampoo and just doing his job since he had lost Rei; not that Shampoo knew about her. He spoke to her and Cologne only when he had to and was polite to customers, but distant. Ranma observed him as he went by, he looked like he'd lost weight and his once luxurious hair was lank and greasy. Ranma as Rei remembered how vain he was about his hair. He would brush it one hundred strokes each night and used a special conditioner that he had to order from China that was guaranteed to make it shinier. He now exclusively wore his glasses, yet Ranma could still tell that his eyelids were swollen from crying and could see the dark circles under his eyes. He wore his still pristine white robe, not proudly like before as if it was his second skin, but listlessly as if it was a cheap suit. He moved like a zombie about his tasks and seemed to care for nothing; Ranma was the only one who knew that it was because he had lost what he cared for.

Oddly enough Shampoo seemed to take greater offense to his silence then when he used to constantly demand love from her. She criticized his work ethic endless and heaped abuse on his on a daily basis. She seemed to enjoy humiliating him in public the most. One day she threw a full bowl of Ramen at his head and gloated when noodles got caught in his hair and chicken flavoured Ramen soaked and stained his robe. In a deadly calm voice he said "you will apologize to me"

"Why have to apologize to lowly male and especially stupid duck boy?" she sneered back.

He seized her wrist and she gasped when he pulled her so that they were practically eye to eye "because it's illegal to treat your employees like this. If you have a problem with my work, you should call me into the kitchen and talk to me about it in private, rather then screaming at me like a fishwife in the main dining room" he said calmly.

"It's true Miss, I own a factory and would never treat my employees like that" a man at a nearby table said in disapproval.

"What's going on here?" Cologne demanded. Seeing Shampoo being manhandled by Mousse, she swiftly conked him on the head, he made a noise of pain when she did this. "Get back to work the pair of you" she ordered.

"I've seen enough, he's right. We've been coming in here for a while now and have seen you hit that boy repeatedly. I doubt that he's over the age of twenty; that's child abuse" a woman at another table chided. "Call the police honey" she ordered her husband, he frowned at Cologne and pulled out his cell phone.

Cologne neatly hooked it, "now now, he's my great-grandson. You know how youngsters act up and have to be punished" she said nervously.

"Punished?" the woman said looking at her through narrowed eyes.

"You know, he either not get food for day or she whip him. Is how it is back home when males misbehave" Shampoo said with a shrug.

"Honey get your cell phone back and find out where in China they're from, this sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen" the woman ordered him.

"Everyone just calm down, my great-granddaughter's just kidding. Everyone here gets a free meal" Cologne said brightly. "Mousse, Shampoo; start serving" she ordered them.

"Serve them yourself, I quit" Mousse said. "Thank you for your concern but I'm fine" he said bowing to the couple.

"You can't be serious; you said you no want to leave Shampoo!" Shampoo cried in surprise.

"I've never been more serious in my life. I'm sick of seeing our future leader trying to whore herself to a so-called lowly male and I'm sick of you. Cologne, you're just as petty, selfish and immature as your great-grandmother..." he said and went on to tell them off in great lengths. He stopped in front of Ranma on his way out and said, "Shampoo's all yours. Gods help you" and left.

Ranma could only watch with pride as Shampoo's lapdog bit her in the ass, he would have applauded if Shampoo hadn't been there. Afterwards she stomped over to his table "what the hell wrong with Mousse lately? He seemed to no eat, no sleep and bitchy as heck. I no like him before and now I hate him. Do boys get PMS?" she snarled.

"Perhaps he lost someone?" Ranma asked.

"His grandmother, but that was months ago" she said.

Ranma waited until everyone had gone to sleep and stole of into the night. Using Rei's key he let himself silently into Mousse's apartment. Ranma walked softly around, seeing the place through her eyes. He allowed himself to experience her memories; she had been so happy here. The bud vase Mousse had given her her first rose in was on the table and it contained of her favourites; a delicate, pink coloured rose. Ranma sniffed it as he caressed the delicate, almost waxen petals. There was the chair that she read in when she had finished all of her chores, it was closest to the window that let the most light in. There were the slippers she wore, the blanket she kept on the sofa. The sofa where they made love sometimes...Ranma blushed at these memories, they unsettled him. That he'd truly enjoyed having male hands upon him, male lips on, well both sets of her's and a male...inside him, Ranma shivered at the idea and the memories.

Silently he let himself into Mousse's room; the other boy wore a pair of sleep pants and a tee shirt. He hugged his pillow in his dreams. He breathed softly and evenly. On his dresser was the picture that Ranma had had taken of himself done up like Rei; he'd done it to taunt Mousse and mock him at the same time. Now it just made him feel bad.

He found himself studying Mousse through Rei's eyes and had to admit that he was a good looking man. It was strange for Ranma these days, it was as if he had two people living inside his body and one of them mourned for this man; Ranma's rapist and greatest love at the same time. Without thinking he reached out and stroked his exposed arm. Mousse opened his eyes and said, "Rei?" he sagged when he saw that is was Ranma. He sat up in bed, "have you come to finally kill me for what I did to you? Go ahead and do it" he said, defeat clear in his voice.

"Actually I wanted to make a bargain with you" Ranma said feeling awkward.

"What would that be?" he asked.

"I want to spend time with you as Rei" he stammered.

"If you want to cross dress, do it somewhere else. I suggest Ryoga; he seems to believe you when you're disguised in your female form. Or perhaps Kuno, that one's as gullible as the day is long; you could probably take half of his fortune if you sold yourself to him" Mousse said contemptuously.

"I mean that I would be Rei at the time. I met a hypnotist who swears he can create a separate personality for Rei that you can access with key code words and then reverse it with others" Ranma explained with a flaming face.

"Do you think that I'm so delusional that I would agree to this!" Mousse snapped. "As far as I'm concerned Rei's dead" he said bitterly.

"I can feel her inside me, she misses you" Ranma protested.

"Then have your hypnotist friend vanquish her" Mousse said.

"You could make love to her while she's in my body" Ranma offered.

Mousse got hard at this idea and blushed when it poked the blanket up "are you gay now?" he said sharply.

"No I want to be her for at least a little while, once a week or something like that. Her life was so peaceful, there was no one challenging her, telling how she's supposed to be or glomping onto her. Rei was loved and cherished by her husband and family. I just want to experience that again for a little while, perhaps an hour. If you could just let me experience her life, I would do anything you asked" Ranma said.

Mousse head was spinning at the idea of seeing his gentle wife again, of touching her...of making lov... "wait you don't like males, it would be like I raped you all over again!" he protested.

Ranma touched his two fingers together nervously and blushed. "I know little about sex, but really enjoyed making love with you. I have no objection doing...that as long as I'm not there at the time. Besides it might be good training for me" he finished lamely. "Mousse what do you want me to do? Name it and it will happen"

Mousse studied him and saw he was serious. "Very well, you can have your Rei time pretending to be my wife, but you have to do something for me"

'What would that be?" Ranma said.

Mousse looked directly at him with his blind eyes "I have spoken to the owner of the circus that I used to work for. They are going to be travelling here in a month, at which time I shall be rejoining them. You have to get the Shampoo's shampoo and wipe my memory clear of her, I then what your hypnotist to replace my memories of Shampoo with those of Rei. I want to forget my years relentless chasing Shampoo and the abuse I suffered at her hands. I want myself to think that it was Rei all along, that she was real and my wife who died young because..."

"You want to think that your love was real" Ranma finished.

"Yes, you will send a message to Cologne on my behalf saying that I will never bother Shampoo again and am never coming back. If you will do this for me, I can grieve for Rei properly as a cherished dead loved one and honour her memory. For this I will give you the remaining time that have left in Nerima for your time of peace and be the most attentive husband ever. Do we have a deal?" he asked.

"Yes" Ranma said without hesitation.


	3. Who's That Girl?

Ranma was just as nervous as Mousse when he brought his friend the hypnotist to 'seal' their deal. His friend was a half Chinese, half Caucasian hybrid whose name was Peter Yu, but his stage name was Zoltan the Amazikin when performing. He was in his late twenties with sandy brown hair that he wore to his shoulders, a slight, but muscular build, light yellow toned skin and had only one piercing blue eye as he lost the other one in a bar fight. He affected a slightly tougher appearance then he actually was by wearing a black eye patch over this, he was actually very friendly and easy going. "So this is your husband?" he teased Ranma when he met Mousse.

Mousse took offence and said "har matey, you be putting out to sea tonight?"

"Hey I might have only one eye but I have perfect vision in it, four eyes" he snarled back.

"Mousse, Pete; please stop. I've explained what we want done and he's agree to it" Ranma reassured Mousse.

"For a price" Peter said.

"Yes he wants to stay with us for two months and make daily records of this" Ranma said.

"I don't mean that I want to watch you two in bed together or anything. I just have never had so unique a request presented to me and think it could make an interesting study. Your names would be changed of course" Peter assured them.

Ranma looked at Mousse and blushed, again he wondered if he was turning homosexual, every fiber of his being longed to make love to him. "I can agree to those terms"

"The circus could probably use a hypnotist act" Mousse said reluctantly.

"Good, if you didn't agree to this, it would cost you. I don't work cheap" he declared as he set up a candle and got Mousse to turn off the lights. "Ranma, you need to change into your girl form, I need to establish boundaries with the Rei personality, so need you to be in her body" he advised him.

Mousse got him a glass of cold water, "it's not too late to back out" he said to him.

"No I want this; at the very least she can be controlled this way. Mousse, I can feel her inside me all the time. She's suffering and as result I am too, I need this. I can't live my life like this" he explained.

"So this isn't just about wanting peace?" Mousse asked in alarm, finally understanding what was motivating Ranma.

"If he can separate us and allow both of us to be happy, then I think this will work" Ranma said.

"Why haven't you tried to vanquish her like I suggested?" Mousse asked in alarm.

"He did try, Ranma approached me after a show I did at a restaurant. That's how we met. His was such a unique case that I agreed to take it on. The Rei personality is too strong to get rid of and Ranma's slowly being driven mad, it was my suggestion to give him a false split personality to allow them to live separate lives. I hope that if I further work with the Rei personality that I can rid him of her" Peter explained.

"You're okay with me being with her?" Mousse said.

"For some reason yes" Ranma said and dumped the water over himself to become a sputtering redhead.

"Okay Ranma I need you to lie on the couch, watch the candle and listen to my voice..." Peter said in a soothing tone and continued until Ranma was under the spell of his voice.

"Did it work?" Mousse asked, if anything Ranma looked asleep to him.

"Ranma can you hear me?" Peter asked.

"Yes" he intoned.

"Can you feel Rei inside you?" he asked.

"Yes" he said.

"We need to talk to her and only her, can that be arranged?" he asked.

"Yes" said Rei's softer voice.

"Rei I have Mousse with me" Peter said.

"Mousse? Is he okay, I didn't even manage to finish washing his underwear" she said in a panic, which caused Peter to laugh.

"Rei is that you?" Mousse said with hope in his voice.

"Of course it's me darling" she said getting up from the couch and throwing herself into his arms, Mousse held her and stroked her face in wonderment.

Peter cleared his throat "there'll be time for that later" he said and they stepped back from each other with a blush.

"Rei, you've been making Ranma extremely uncomfortable with your desiring to be with your husband. I have a suggestion, but you have to agree to it. Ranma will allow you uncontrolled visits with your husband for a month, but we have to be able to control your personality. You will have to be dormant when Ranma is Ranma and he will be dormant when you are you. But you will share the same memories so that neither one of you gets confused. I can set up these boundaries, do you accept?"

"Anything to be able to spend time with my Mousse" she said.

"Good now I have to hypnotist you" Peter said.

"Isn't she already hypnotized?" Mousse asked.

"No its more like she's been brought to the surface, I now have to get both people under control to sort them" he explained. He went through the same steps until he had her under his spell. "Rei you will only come out when Mousse says 'come Rei' and will become dormant when Mousse says 'Ranma return'. You will have nothing to do with Ranma's body or personality until this happens. Do you understand?" he asked her.

"Yes I do" she said.

"You will have the personality that Mousse gave you...no wait" he said when Mousse shook his head. He whispered into his ear her new instructions. "You will wear what you want, say what you want and only be a housewife if you want" he said.

"I love taking care of my husband and home" she protested.

"Then do as you want" he said, "now on the count of three both you and Ranma will wake up. One. Two. Three."

"Did it work?" Ranma asked.

"Try it Mousse" Peter said with a nod, Ranma looked nervous.

"come Rei" Mousse said.

"Honey" she said in her sweet voice and flew into his arms again. Mousse started sobbing to be holding her again, she kissed him to still his tears and comfort quickly turned to passion. Peter took one look at their desperate clinch and let himself out, he knew the Ranma could become a girl, but somehow seeing him with a guy disturbed him.

Mousse returned to being his formally easy going, well groomed self and even smiled all day long at the crap job he'd picked up to tied him over until he rejoined the circus. He would see his wife at least three times a week and this was more precious to him than jewels. Sometimes they talked all night and sometimes they made love. It was the happiest moments in his life; he dreaded that they must come to an end soon.

Rei smiled up at her husband. "You know that tonight this ends right?" Peter asked her.

She stroked Mousse's cheek, he covered her hand with his own, his eyes shone with unshed tears. "I know, at least I got to say goodbye this time" she said softly. "I'll always love you Mousse" she whispered to him.

"I feel the same" he said softly. "Ranma return" he said with a shaking voice.

"Is she gone?" Ranma asked after yanking her hand from Mousse.

"Yes she should be sealed off from you permanently" Peter said.

"Good then lets do it" Ranma said pulling out the bottle of formula #911, he lead Mousse into the washroom and carefully shampooed his hair to get all the right pressure points based on the instructions.

"I hope that this stuff works, I had to go out on a date with Shampoo to get it" he said with a shudder. "That woman has more hands than and octopus." Mousse just murmured; he was too entranced by the feeling of someone massaging his scalp to care.

Once Mousse was under its spell, Peter took him even deeper. "You will forget Shampoo, it was Rei all along. You met her when you were three when she accidently dropped a cherry on your head when she'd been stealing them from your mother's tree. You looked up to find a beautiful redheaded girl grinning at you. She was your first love and she loved your back..." he said and spun a tail that made Mousse smile and made Ranma in awe of his storytelling abilities. He learned how they shared their first kiss when they were ten. How she publically declared she was going to marry him and allowed him to defeat her when they were thirteen, how married at sixteen and various little details about their lives until Ranma himself started to believe it. Until Peter whispered "how did she die?"

"Cancer?" Ranma suggested.

"Sure a long lingering death nice memory, think of something else!" he whispered harshly

"Snake bite?" Ranma said.

"Too violent" he said with a sigh

"How about poison?" he suggested

"Too gory?" he said with a shudder.

"Brain aneurism?" Ranma said grasping at straws

"Quick and painless, perfect. She died of a brain aneurism a year ago. You've been a widower ever since and still miss her, but feel better. You loved her but had to leave after her funeral, she was buried with full Amazonian honours. You left your village to visit your friend Ranma in Nerima, whom you met when he visited your village in China. You are rejoining the circus where you enjoyed a great career as a knife thrower; you have friends that you made there. Go forth, you have your whole life ahead of you to seek adventures and find a new love" he said kindly, Tears streamed from Mousse's eyes while he said this. "What's wrong Ranma?" Peter asked pausing. Ranma was quietly sobbing.

"Something's wrong, Rei's sobbing about him leaving. She doesn't want him to go" Ranma said in confusion.

"How's that possible? She was sealed off. I'm starting to think we're dealing with more then a split personality" Peter said.

"She screaming in my head" Ranma cried. "I need to go with him" he said understanding. "Tell him that I'm his assistant in his show"

"Ranma I don't think that's a good idea, he can't have a male assistant. That's not how it is in the circus" Peter said.

"Tell him I'm Rei's twin sister, Ray who fell into the Jusenkyo spring of the drowned man" Ranma suggested.

"It's not going to work, he will be missing his wife and will transfer his feelings for her to the woman who most closest resembles her; you" Peter said.

"I'm her twin sister Ray who's a tomboy. I'm like a kid sister to him...and a lesbian" Ranma said firmly.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked.

"Yes I need to see this through to its conclusion or go mad" he said. Peter bent and told Mousse what Ranma said...and that was how Ranma ended up travelling with the circus.

Ranma had left most of his packed bags at Mousse's earlier that week. So he stole out of the Tendo house early in the morning leaving just a note, saying that he didn't know when he would be back. He felt bad about leaving Akane like this, but promised himself that he would explain it to her as soon as possible...but not the part about sleeping with Mousse.

Ranma was disappointed when Mousse led her to a trailer that was parked far away from the big top. "This is where Peter shall be staying. I wish you could stay here to Ray, but we wouldn't want to give people the wrong impression. As if anything would happen between us!" Mousse said in amusement.

"Definitely not" Ranma said and hid a blush.

Mousse put his bags down "let's mingle and find out who I know who still works here. We're bound to find a girl who will let you stay with her. People usually eat dinner this time a day before the performances start, just leave your bags here until we get you sorted" he suggested.

They had just walked into the dining hall when there was a squeal, Ranma's eyes went wide when a mass of flying curls and golden skin flung itself at Mousse. He laughed and swung her around, clearly glad to see her. Ranma's jaw dropped at how exotically beautiful the girl was, she had the golden café o lait complexion of a black woman. Her face was perfection itself with delicate features, a button nose with a gold stud in it, high cheekbones, wide turquoise eyes and a wide, mobile mouth. Her hair cascaded down her back in wild blue-black curls to her knees. She was just as tall as Mousse and seemed to be about the same age as him, with a curvy body. Her body was lush and toned and she had what Ranma had been told were called, 'girly muscles' with a flat, washboard stomach. Her clothes were as exotic as the rest of her; she wore a green split skirt topped with a wide black leather belt, a headband that matched the skirt, soft black leather slouch boots and a short leather bustier that showed off her taut belly. She wore gold bangles around her wrists and had a large beaten gold belt buckle. She smiled politely at Ranma, yet Ranma could see disappointment in her eyes. It was the same that he saw in Akane's eyes when she caught him with another girl. Her grip on Mousse was possessive, not octopus-like as Shampoo's was, but still as amorous.


End file.
